TV-Series
Description
Hachirota Hoshino, almost universally known by his nickname Hachimaki, is a young Japanese man from the city of Kujukuri on the east coast of Japan, near Tokyo. His birth date is October 20, 2050. He chose not to attend university after high school, instead enrolling in a professional training school to obtain his EVA license. Following this, he became a regular employee of the Technora Corporation, where he has been assigned to the Debris Section, a low-priority division responsible for collecting hazardous space junk in Earth's orbit.
The nickname Hachimaki, which refers to the traditional Japanese headband, originates from his habit of wearing one while working, a practice he maintains as a personal ritual for focus and determination. His appearance and attitude in the early stages of his career reflect a certain roughness and volatility. He is described as expressive, temperamental, vulgar, and not particularly gentlemanly, yet he possesses a strong sense of responsibility and an underlying goodness that is not always immediately apparent to others.
At the core of Hachimaki's character is a profound and driving ambition: to own his own spaceship. He sees his dangerous and low-paying job collecting debris not as a dead end but as a stepping stone toward this dream. This desire to explore space on his own terms, to go faster and farther than anyone else, frequently puts him at odds with those around him. He struggles with the fear that his grand dream is ultimately impossible, yet he pursues it with a fierce, sometimes reckless, determination. This internal conflict is intensified by his complicated relationship with his family, particularly his father, Goro Hoshino, a brilliant but eccentric astronaut and chief engineer on a major Jupiter exploration spacecraft. Hachimaki shares a contentious, often physically combative relationship with his younger brother, Kyutaro, an ambitious amateur rocket maker who views Hachimaki as an insincere astronaut.
Within the Debris Section, Hachimaki is a skilled EVA worker and is tasked with instructing a new recruit named Ai Tanabe. Their relationship begins with bickering but slowly develops into a deep romantic connection. His mentor and teacher during his training was a legendary former astronaut and debris hauler named Gigalt Gangaragash.
The course of his life changes dramatically following a serious accident during an EVA, which causes him to suffer from a psychological condition known as space loss. This experience paradoxically strengthens his conviction to go further into space. The death of his teacher, Gigalt, from cancer reinforces a feeling of isolation and loneliness, leading him to believe that he is ultimately alone in the universe. Acting on this belief, he applies for a position as an EVA crew member on the von Braun, the historic manned mission to Jupiter, leaving behind Ai Tanabe.
His zeal for the mission becomes all-consuming. He grows angry at a friend who accepts failure too easily and nearly loses his humanity in his obsessive drive to succeed. He confronts a terrorist, Hakim, and comes to the brink of killing him, an act that would fundamentally change who he is. It is only after a series of traumatic events, including a motorcycle accident that hurls him into the sea, that he experiences a revelation. Seeing the faces of everyone connected to him, he finally understands that he is not alone.
This realization culminates in a profound change in his character. During the Jupiter mission, he is chosen by lot to give a speech to all of humanity. In his address, he rejects the isolating, individualistic drive that had consumed him. Instead of speaking of grand exploration, he speaks of the power of human connection and love, a force he declares to be stronger than nuclear fusion. He admits that he had wanted to sever all ties to be free, but learned that he could not stop loving people. He concludes not with an ambition to explore the unknown, but with the simple, heartfelt desire to return to his old job as a debris collector, to be closer to the people on Earth. He eventually proposes to Ai Tanabe during a spacewalk, and they marry before he departs for Jupiter, with the final scenes of his story suggesting they start a family together. Despite his initial emotional turmoil, his technical abilities and skill as an EVA agent remain consistently at the highest level throughout his journey.
The nickname Hachimaki, which refers to the traditional Japanese headband, originates from his habit of wearing one while working, a practice he maintains as a personal ritual for focus and determination. His appearance and attitude in the early stages of his career reflect a certain roughness and volatility. He is described as expressive, temperamental, vulgar, and not particularly gentlemanly, yet he possesses a strong sense of responsibility and an underlying goodness that is not always immediately apparent to others.
At the core of Hachimaki's character is a profound and driving ambition: to own his own spaceship. He sees his dangerous and low-paying job collecting debris not as a dead end but as a stepping stone toward this dream. This desire to explore space on his own terms, to go faster and farther than anyone else, frequently puts him at odds with those around him. He struggles with the fear that his grand dream is ultimately impossible, yet he pursues it with a fierce, sometimes reckless, determination. This internal conflict is intensified by his complicated relationship with his family, particularly his father, Goro Hoshino, a brilliant but eccentric astronaut and chief engineer on a major Jupiter exploration spacecraft. Hachimaki shares a contentious, often physically combative relationship with his younger brother, Kyutaro, an ambitious amateur rocket maker who views Hachimaki as an insincere astronaut.
Within the Debris Section, Hachimaki is a skilled EVA worker and is tasked with instructing a new recruit named Ai Tanabe. Their relationship begins with bickering but slowly develops into a deep romantic connection. His mentor and teacher during his training was a legendary former astronaut and debris hauler named Gigalt Gangaragash.
The course of his life changes dramatically following a serious accident during an EVA, which causes him to suffer from a psychological condition known as space loss. This experience paradoxically strengthens his conviction to go further into space. The death of his teacher, Gigalt, from cancer reinforces a feeling of isolation and loneliness, leading him to believe that he is ultimately alone in the universe. Acting on this belief, he applies for a position as an EVA crew member on the von Braun, the historic manned mission to Jupiter, leaving behind Ai Tanabe.
His zeal for the mission becomes all-consuming. He grows angry at a friend who accepts failure too easily and nearly loses his humanity in his obsessive drive to succeed. He confronts a terrorist, Hakim, and comes to the brink of killing him, an act that would fundamentally change who he is. It is only after a series of traumatic events, including a motorcycle accident that hurls him into the sea, that he experiences a revelation. Seeing the faces of everyone connected to him, he finally understands that he is not alone.
This realization culminates in a profound change in his character. During the Jupiter mission, he is chosen by lot to give a speech to all of humanity. In his address, he rejects the isolating, individualistic drive that had consumed him. Instead of speaking of grand exploration, he speaks of the power of human connection and love, a force he declares to be stronger than nuclear fusion. He admits that he had wanted to sever all ties to be free, but learned that he could not stop loving people. He concludes not with an ambition to explore the unknown, but with the simple, heartfelt desire to return to his old job as a debris collector, to be closer to the people on Earth. He eventually proposes to Ai Tanabe during a spacewalk, and they marry before he departs for Jupiter, with the final scenes of his story suggesting they start a family together. Despite his initial emotional turmoil, his technical abilities and skill as an EVA agent remain consistently at the highest level throughout his journey.